Protesters storm JSCA meet

Hazaribagh: Suspended members of Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) on Saturday stormed a special general meeting of the body which was to have endorsed the penalty imposed on them.

Led by suspended JSCA members Jeetu Patel and Sunil Kumar Singh, a group of over 200 people entered the hotel where the meeting was being held and disrupted the proceedings. The mob forced the meeting to be called off within seven minutes of its commencement, JSCA vice-president Sanjay Singh told reporters here. The meeting was convened to endorse the suspension of Patel, Sunil Kumar, Bhanu Prasad, Sachin Kumar Singh and S Dubey for alleged anti-JSCA activities, he added. One of the members, Praveen Kumar Singh, raised an objection to endorsing the suspension, saying that, "JSCA should not function dictatorially as it will affect cricket". Raising slogans against JSCA`s hiring of players from outside the state, the protesters managed to enter the hotel complex despite the organisers having `sealed off` all entry points. JSCA President Amitabh Choudhary left the venue immediately after the protesters arrived on the scene.